Improvement in passenger-tickets



J. N. STINSON. Passenger-Ticket.

.Patente 1 ,ly 22,1879.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

JOSEPH N. STINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN PASSENGER-TICKETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 217,753, dated July '22, 1879; application 'filed September 14, 1.878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosErH N. S'iINsoN, of the city of Chicago, county otl Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain Improve ments in Passenger-Tickets, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to preserve the evidence, and to give information to the dierent persons or companies interested, of the weight of extra baggage carried by passengers over their several lines, and especially the amount'of money collected for the transportation of such extra baggage by the agent or company lirst receiving the same.

lt is the usual custom of transportation companics to allow passengers purchasing tickets to carry a certain amount of baggage, and to make a charge for all carried over that amount, and the money thus collected for extra baggage should be divided pro rata between the several companies carrying the same. In the present way of conducting this business, a separate ticket is issued to the passenger for such extra baggage, which is good over all the lines of travel mentioned in his local or coupon passenger-ticket. Upon reaching his destination, the passenger is expected to deliver this extra-baggage ticket to the company last carrying him, butin most cases this is neglected, so that generally the company receiving such extra baggage is the only one cognizant ot' the amount collected for its transportation.

Even when the extra-baggage ticket is properly delivered by the passenger at his point of destination the intermediate companies which have carried him have no adequate means of ascertaining or keeping a proper record of the amount collected by the irst company, in which they are entitled to participate 5 and so whether they receive their full share or not depends mainly on the care and honesty ot' the agent or company making the collection.

My invention is calculated to remedy these evils, and to keep all the companies or persons interested constantly informed in regard to the matters above mentioned 5 and it consists in adding to the ordinary passenger-ticket, whether the same be a local ticket or ticket with coupons or checks attached, words or characters having reference to either weight of extra baggage carried or amount ot' money paid for the same, or to both ot' these facts, and also having a blank space or spaces opposite said words or characters, respectively, for the insertion therein of the respective figures indicating either the weight ot the extra baggage carried or amount paid for thc same, or both ot` said facts, of which the following may serve as an example:

Extra-baggage coupon.

Veight .pounds Collected These words or characters of similar import should be printed or otherwise placed on or attached to some convenient part of the ticket, or of its several coupons or checks, where coupon or check tickets' are issued, and in the blank spaces opposite the said words or characters the agent or other person selling the ticket inserts the figures indicating either the amount of extra baggage carried or the amount paid for the same, or both of said facts, at the time of the purchase of the ticket.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l shows a face view of a passengerticket arranged according to my invention. Such ticket, as represented, will, when issued by a railroad company, take a passenger from Detroit, Michigan, to Boston, Massachusetts, together with his regular and extra baggage. Fig. 2 is a back view of the ticket shown in Fig. l, and it illustrates one manner of providing the different sections or coupons of the passenger-ticket with an extra-baggage coupon receipt, upon which the amount of extra baggage carried by him and the amount of money paid therefor overthe entire route may be inserted by the agent at the oflice where the tickets are sold, such gures being placed opposite words and characters provided on each of the extra-baggage coupon receipts, which extra-baggage coupon receipts, in this instance, constitute portions of the back of the passenger-ticket, and correspond in form and size with the respective sections or coupons ot' said ticket.

Thus the extra-baggage ticket is dispensed with, and the different persons or companies interested are accurately and immediately informed in regard to the amountof extra baggage carried and the amount collected for its transportation, and are also enabled to keep perfect records thereof, constitutinglegal evidence, by simply preserving the tickets, coupons, or checks taken up on their lines of travel, respectively.

I do not claim the baggage checks or tickets shown in the patent of Enoch H. Paine, of November 24, 1868, and the patent of Joseph F. Leavitt and Henry T. Clark, of May 16, 1876,

or other checks or tickets which do not have the Words or gures indicating the amount of extra baggage carried placed on the passenger-ticket itself and on its coupons.

I do not Wish'to be understood as claiming or restricting` myself to any particular form of Words or figures, or class of tickets, or any particular Way of printing, engraving, stamping, or otherwise placing such Words or figures on or attaching them to the ticket, coupon, or check; but

NVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A passen ger-ticket provided With Words or characters having reference to Weight of extra baggage carried and amount of money paid for the same, and also having blank spaces opposite the said Words or characters for the insertion therein of the respective gures indicating weight of extra baggage carried and amount paid for the same, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A passenger-ticket provided with Words or characters having reference to weight of extra baggage carried, and also having a blank space opposite the said words for the insertion therein of figures indicating the amount of extra baggage carried, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A passenger-ticket provided with Words or characters having reference to the amount of money collected for extra baggage, and also having opposite said Words or characters ablank space for the insertion therein of figureslindicating the amount of money paid for such extra baggage, all as herein setl forth.

J. N. STINSON.

Witnesses M. WINTER, EPHRAIM BANNING. 

